THE DEFENDERS "Earth's Last Best Hope" [OOC Chat

[kevperrine]

a play-by-post BASH! production UNCANNY p r e s e n t s
THE D E F E N D E R S
EARTH'S LAST BEST HOPE
Thrown together when our world faces fears and foes no other heroes can handle. They are THE DEFENDERS, branded the 'non-team' whose members may not find themselves fond of fellow teammates... Heroes none-the-less, they are Earth's last best defense against otherworldly threats, supernatural fiends, and the universe's most mighty menaces.


Dr. Stephen Strange is DR. STRANGE ... as played by Saker
Luke Cage is POWER MAN ... as played by Nestor
Brunnhilde is VALKYRIE ... as played by Harrigan
Norrin Radd is SILVER SURFER ... as played by archivis


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Welcome to the OUT-OF-CHARACTER thread for The DEFENDERS play-by-post campaign.
COMING SOON - the Actual Play Thread LINK:

THE DEFENDERS
Earth's Last Best Hope
Story Arc I - Issue #1
"A Tale of Two Hulks"

For ease of reference: a LINK to the original query for this PbP campaign.

Please feel free to post thoughts of questions regarding the campaign here. If you are playing in the campaign, please take time to post your MOST UPDATED character in this thread for thoughts and feedback as play happens.
I will continue updating THIS post/thread as needed. Here are some contact details. Feel free to send me Private Mail via the Forum or email.

-kev-
Kevin Perrine
kevperrine@yahoo.com

BASH! RULES

This PbP will be using the newest printing and errata of the BASH! UE rules. If you have questions regarding the rules, or about a ruling, please post here.

ALTERNATE GAME MECHANICS
The following are Alternate Rules in the BASH! UE core book that we WILL be using:
- Buying Advantages 1:1 (p. 126)
- Fame: Aclaim & Infamy (p. 127-130) calculated by Narrator based on background, then in-game play.
- Experience Points Method #1 (p. 130)

IN-GAME PLAY STYLE

The core "play style" of this PbP campaign will be in the style of ICONIC Marvel Universe characters, all in their "rookie" stages. We will be following the style AND the *continuity* set in the animated series "AVENGERS Earth's Mightiest Heroes"... In terms of tone and style, this series is based on stories comic book stories and original stories remade. We will utilize material from all eras of the comic's run and other sources such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Watch this clip for action and fun idea to plan for!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fToS3tU2 ... r_embedded

CONTINUITY
Assume all the material presented in the Avengers series is our timeline for THE DEFENDERS. Heroes (and villains) shown in the series have been "active" for approximately a year. Other heroes/villains in the Marvel Universe follow the general introduction as in the original Marvel Universe (meaning - as example: the Fantastic Four and X-men have very recently been formed or will be formed soon).

You should assume that your character's background HAS happened as recently as makes sense (Dr. Strange would have recently earned the title "Sorcerer Supreme", Luke Cage has likely done some minor work with Danny Rand (Iron Fist) in *'s Kitchen, etc....
Unless you have "ADV: Contacts" or other means, you are new to the Marvel Universe. So - for example: You have not met the Avengers individuals unless you have one of them as a Contact, etc...

WRITING & DIE ROLLING

WRITING
- Please write your descriptions in 3rd person, past tense (your narrator talking) as you write your thoughts and dialogue.
- Please choose a COLOR to represent your PC-Hero's thoughts and dialogue, and use that anytime you think/speak.
- Please write thoughts in ITALICS.
- Please write dialogue in BOLD.
- Please begin each post with:
NAME (condition status, current Hits) True Identity
Example:
THE HULK (Normal, 100 Hits) Bruce Banner

DIE ROLLING
We will be using the BASH! Forum die roller. I will always give you the option to spend Hero Points or Die before continuing the story.

OTHER
Feel free to include IMAGES in your posts if you like.
If you have OOC Questions, please direct them to THIS thread.
If you have important questions or rule questions in the In-Play thread: Please post them in a QUOTE box at the BOTTOM of the post.
Example:

Mr. Narrator - My total on that roll came out as a 14, do I get any other modifiers or Die Bonus for the weather?

Any other thoughts, questions?
-kev-

[kevperrine]

The team so far..........
More players = more teammates = and I'll add to this image!!

DR. STRANGE, Stephen Strange is Earth's Sorcerer Supreme! ...as played by Saker.
POWER MAN is Luke Cage, Hero-for-Hire! ...as played by Nestor.
VALKYRIE is Brunnhilde, Midguard's Warrior Maiden! ...as played by Harrigan.

[kevperrine]

a play-by-post BASH! production UNCANNY p r e s e n t s
THE D E F E N D E R S
EARTH'S LAST BEST HOPE
Story Arc I; Issue #1
"A Tale of Two Hulks"

[Harrigan]

Awesomesauce.

Will be modding Val's build later today.

[Nestor]

You mentioned sending us the Excel sheets for our characters. I'd like that, if possible.

I'll PM you my email addy.

[Nestor]

Don't mind me, just testing out the editor for posting:

Cage looked at his two potential teammates and muttered, "Christmas, it looks like I just walked in on the set of the Conan remake."

If that passes muster, O GM, I'll take brown as my character's posting color.

[Saker]

OK I took a huge break from work today and had fun doing something that I wrote that I wouldn't do. I hope you enjoy it.

cheers

[kevperrine]

Awesomesauce.

Will be modding Val's build later today.

Rock on! Looking forward to her!
If you're interested - I was thinking of using your stat build and "rebuilding" her in my "AMAZING BASH! BUILDER" ...
a. for fun, 'cause I dig it.
b. it helps me "think through" the stats/info if I rebuild it myself.
But I could forward you the Excel file or just upload the image output that I get when done if you like.
NOT a requisite - just offering.

You mentioned sending us the Excel sheets for our characters. I'd like that, if possible.

I'll PM you my email addy.

And DONE!
Hope it works well for ya. Ask if you need aid or thoughts.

Don't mind me, just testing out the editor for posting:

Cage looked at his two potential teammates and muttered, "Christmas, it looks like I just walked in on the set of the Conan remake."

If that passes muster, O GM, I'll take brown as my character's posting color.

It's a BEAUTY! Exactly what I was hoping to have for in-game play. ROCK!

OK I took a huge break from work today and had fun doing something that I wrote that I wouldn't do. I hope you enjoy it.

LOL
Saker - I'm not sure if you or I am more prone to doing the fun thing like that, even when we say/think we don't have interest or time. HAHA...
NICE!!

NOTE... The build is YOURS, just like an original character. So I'm NOT going to say you cannot have or do "x" with you builds (anyone).
As I've noted before... This is a fun campaign for YOU to build your favorite Marvel character to play. So I won't disqualify ANYONE's build idea - as long as it follows the normal BASH! UE character build rules.
That said...
I will make suggestions and look for your explanations as to why the character should vary from what might be the "normal" continuity of the character's stats in the Marvel Universe..
Here are some thoughts -

- Mind 5?, I feel is (honestly) out of the ballpark for Stephen Strange. I know/understand that Mind is used for ALOT of things that Strange DOES have at that rank. But he's just not that smart. I'd encourage (but not restrict) you to use Boost with the Limitation that it can't be used for Skills, or Int based things - only powers/magics.

- "Force Field"... I really like the "variable" idea on Force Field, very cool idea to use it for multiple "spell" effects like that! I will totally steal that some day. hehe!

- "Memory Tampering"... Love it. I thought about that too! Should be very useful, I've never *seen* anyone use that in a game of BASH! yet.... ROCK!

- "X-Mastery"... again another very appropriate interpretation. Nice!

- "ADV: Contacts"... I'd like you to 'fill out' who/what those are. I ask because with Strange (and being a Celebrity) you could want them to be in our known-world with other heroes (Avengers, FF, X-men), he could have it as a Neurosurgeon (for any scientific contacts, from Genetic's Dr. Moira MacTaggert to the US Military's Thunderbolt Ross, etc...), or he could have it with any variety of Dimensional/Supernatural demons/great old ones, etc... Heck - for each of those he could take it multiple times. So please specify.


Anyway.
GREAT look at Strange for 40 pts!! I had confidence it can be done well. Nice work!!

As I noted with Valkyrie, I may toy with updating YOUR version in my AMZ-BASH!-BLDR Excel sheet to help me read/understand where all the points are spent better. Only for my own reference. If that's cool. If you want my updated sheet for your use - let me know, and he's yours.
-kev-

[kevperrine]

Question.

What do you interested potential players think of playing this Play-by-Post game as normal here online, but then ALSO occasionally (once a month max) do an online-Skype linked LIVE game together - as BASHMAN did a few months ago?

Thoughts?
-kev-

[Harrigan]

No live / Skype for me -- just doesn't work with my schedule. Sorry!

[kevperrine]

Thought I'd update the "HEADER" that I think would be cool for everyone to start each post with in-game to help everyone.
Here's the example:
(I'll use the Hulk, for example - and as if we're in combat; also showing "your" dialogue color as well)



THE HULK
Dr. Bruce Banner; Immobilized; HITS: 67
HPs: 3 | HD: 0 | PSPs: 0


FYI, that's:
HPs = Hero Points
HD = Hero Dice
PSP = Personal Setback Points

SPs = Setback Points
VD = Villain Dice


NOTE: I will keep "team" Setback Points and Villain Points and other campaign/situation info for you at a glance of all Narrator posts as well - something like this:

LOCATION: the King's Court, Attilan, Blue Area of the Moon. (ancestral home of the Inhumans)
_____________
SPs: 6 | VD: 2

Anything else that could be helpful to go in there?
Make sense?
Better suggestions?

Also... as a side-note. Thought it would be good to say, folks can post as MUCH as they want once the game gets rolling. But it'd be great for everyone to do their best to post at least once a week. If you can't for whatever reason, no worries... just let us know - so the game fun won't lag.
Cool?
-kev-

[Harrigan]

VALKYRIE
Brunnhilde; Preparing for Play; HITS: 100
HPs: 0 | HD: 1 | PSPs: 1

Dark Blue for Valkyrie, if that works.

And first off, thanks to Saker for the excellent ideas on the build, many of which I incorporated. Doing a little reading re-pointed me in some of the right directions as well, though I'm purposefully leaving off a few angles because of the background I've developed, and because they can be introduced later to really good effect (Aragorn, Dragonfang, her ability to teleport to/from Asgard, which I'm saying the Enchantress has robbed her of).

Before I forget, I too love that pic -- and reportedly at 6'3" and 475lbs... yeowtch.

Saker wrote:

Weapon Technique 2 (+2 damage on hand-to-hand & thrown) 3 pts. With the Agility boost, you shouldn’t need to put it to hit, so you just need damage. I threw thrown in there for free, because I think she should be able to throw her spear but not pay the points for all ranged like guns and bows, which she shouldn’t have. So your sword and spear would start as x3 damage equipment and become x5 to hit and x5+15 damage in your hands!

I'm not grokking this last bit. Don't those weapons start at x2, and then just add +3DM from the Weapon Technique to reach x5 DM?

So here's the new build:



Changed quite a lot. Notes:

-Dropped the shield. As much as I like it, and it's very "Viking," she just doesn't seem to use one. Bummer.

-Kept her at Brawn 4. She's got a 45 ton rating, 20 more than Power Man who we have at 3+3. If PM drops to 3, maybe we should look at 3+3 for her to get the scale right.

-I was looking for some points to trim, but I kind of like her as-is, and maybe the setback points can represent the Enchantress' curse...

-Speaking of that curse / banishment, I've updated the background and made it clearer -- and hopefully "Iconic." I actually don't know the new Avengers cartoon all that well. Will try to DVR it, but I don't know that it's playing much right now. And to save money while we finish our basement, we've turned off Netflix for a few months...

~|~

Completely unrelated, I've solved the Sub-Mariner thing. He's rated per Marvel Universe at 100 tons while in the water. And I remember those early FFs -- the Thing couldn't budge him while he was in the surf! Pretty cool.

Also completely unrelated, if I were asked to provide my opinion on how the "Heightened" power worked, I'd have gone with +2 modifiers rather than +3. At the low end of rolling (say 2-5), the +3 is better, the same or marginally worse than the next full die up. Kind of hinky.

[kevperrine]

Quick replies on a few things.
I dig the new build - YUP, Val is Asgardian more than Viking specific. Looking good though! Love some of the things you kept and added.

and hopefully "Iconic." I actually don't know the new Avengers cartoon all that well. Will try to DVR it, but I don't know that it's playing much right now.

Okay.
How about this... Ever watched any of the Bruce Timm animated series of the DC Universe?
Assuming so...
Do you see how those shows sort of have their OWN "cleaner" simple continuity. Retelling things in the DCU from a fresh perspective, while keeping the respect for the original?

In the DC Animated shows we "meet" characters brand new for the first time and see them in their "Year One" rookie type stages. We see first meetings between even the big heroes (no one knew any "secret identities" of each other in the Lustice League until season 2 or so - well Batman knew everyone, to Flash's surprise! heheh)

The idea of the Avegners show that's coming into it's next season does this well.

So.
With "iconic"... I mean, establishing our own continuity as if the characters were all brand new to superheroing. They have their small bits of backstory (including Contacts and Arch Enemies, etc...) but largely are brand new. We can THEN "use" all their full depth of Marvel continuity to give ideas, to "inform" us on stories and such that "update" things from their Marvel past into OUR main continuity.
So in essence - treat your hero (and most of the world) like "rookies" in superheroing... Whatever happens IN-game will grow your hero into whatever they become through YOUR role-play and fun.

Completely unrelated, I've solved the Sub-Mariner thing. He's rated per Marvel Universe at 100 tons while in the water. And I remember those early FFs -- the Thing couldn't budge him while he was in the surf! Pretty cool.

hehe..
I could see that, and sorta remember it.
In related news as well. I was at a comic shop today and found the Byrne limited series of Namor (the one with him battling Griffin on the cover) and I read through it again.
Unfortunately to dispute... there is not a single whale in the entire series run. The closest they get is showing Namorita swimming with dolphins.
Sorry.
I still don't think Namor ever lifted a whale.
Wasn't gonna mention it, or bring it back ... but since you found some (cool) update on Namor, I thought I'd share. HEY! wonder if that would be a "Boost" built into Namor's stats or just a Power Stunt Boost for the moment? (I'd go with the latter).

On RELATED goodness, I found some excellent Defenders source books to use. (ie. fun comics to read) for the game. And the guy sold them too me for $1.00 each... He was going to charge me like $2.95 each until I mentioned it was "research" for a game fun... So he dropped the price to support our fun. LOL

-kev-

[Saker]

@Harrigan

I'm glad you liked the suggestions. A couple of more comments:

1. Read the section of using weapons. HtH weapons have their multiplier of x2 or x3 AND get to add +5 for each level of Brawn. I thought a big sword was x3. Normally equipment breaks with that much damage, but that's magicalness of your items, I guess.

2. Weapon Technique only goes to 2, so your x2 sword would do x4 (base x2 + x2 for WT) +20 Brawn, which is effectively x7 damage!

3. You could save another 2 pts limiting Attack Weak Point & Disarm Expert to using weapons. I mentioned that before, because I didn't see her doing kung fu or using guns to disarm people from range.

4. You didn't take Tough or Grappling Martial Arts, which doesn't allow you to have x5 Soak in HtH, which is nice; although overkill with the armor... which she could lose. Also Grappling would give her an effective Brawn 5 and allow reversals, which helps against all those giants she fights.

@Kev
Doctor Strange will use red. Here's my reasoning for 5 vs 3 Mind

3 Mind = 6 pts
Boost Mind 2 with powers = 2 pts
1 Mind Shield = 1 pt
Skillful 1 = 1 pt
Total = 10 pts
Mental Defense x5
Notice Things x3
Medicine x4/Neurosurgery
Occultism x5/Mystical Entities
Default Mental skills x2
-----------------------------------------
5 Mind = 10 pts
Total = 10 pts
Unskilled disadvantage
Mental Defense x5
Notice Things x5
Medicine x5/Neurosurgery
Occultism x5/Mystical Entities
Default Mental skills x3
No Physical skills
------------------------------------------
So the main differences, which I prefer are:

1. Replace Physically Challenged (PC) disadvantage with Unskilled. I didn't think PC was that limiting. It only prevented him performing neurosurgery, which was an explanation for why an intelligent, driven guy became the Sorcerer Supreme. His PC was not being blind or a paraplegic, which is physically challenged.

2. I like his perception improvement from x3 to x5. Great wizards notice lots of things.

3. I like that he has no physical skills

4. I don't mind (pun intended) the increase in Medicine and default Mental skills by one. In fact, it adds to air of magic that he seems to know about things that he shouldn't.

5. Mind 5 removes the need to have 3 powers. I prefer simpler builds.

That is my reasoning for what it's worth.

I would appreciate any suggestions for his three Contacts. My first thoughts are the Fantastic Four, the Ancient One and New York Hospital.

cheers

[Harrigan]

Yeah, I know about the "clean" continuity of this stuff, and I'm a big fan -- just haven't gotten to the new Avengers stuff yet, too busy with Young Justice and Iron Man Armored Adventures season 2 with my son.

That said, are you okay with her connections back to Asgard and the way I've made her "Iconic?" Tried to capitalize on relationships with Odin, Thor, Enchantress, her wandering aimless after Odin shut down her bidness, her friendship with Enchantress and the sorceress' "imprisoning" Valkyrie. (In the original comics, in a crystal. Here, on Midgard.)

Saker, thanks for the continued tips. Good stuff on the weapons -- which I see are actually limited to +15, but I think that works out fine. Regarding the extra MA, I just don't want them -- I want the armor to matter, and I don't think she needs the grappling stuff when she has Brawn 4. It's a style thing.

Here's the latest -- did a lot of limiting of marital powers to only when armed, paid a point for the 'unbreakable' weapons, made her a bit more skillful, modded her resistance / immunity after reading a bit more about Asgardians in general.